Basketball and sport in the US has been rocked since the weekend by racist comments alleged to have been made by LA Clippers team owner Donald Sterling.
A ten minute recording of a conversation between Sterling and a friend was obtained by a celebrity gossip website and has taken the country by storm with everyone from President Barack Obama down being asked for an opinion.
There has been universal condemnation and the NBA is to make a statement today about an investigation it is carrying out.
Players at the franchise staged a protest on Sunday wearing their shirts inside out to obscure the club name in pre match warm up and taking to the court wearing black socks and bands.
Half a dozen major sponsors of the team have already announced they are severing their links, while wishing the best to players and fans.
These include Corona who announced last night they are suspending their sponsorship until the NBA investigation has taken place, Mercedes Benz, Red Bull, AquaHydrate and Virgin America.
The NBA works on a pooled revenue model whereby all sponsorship obtained by teams is collectively shared. This will lessen the immediate financial blow to the team but have a wider impact on the League itself.
The spread of social media and greater accessibility of players and officials to the public is making for nervous times with sponsors who thrive on the engagement but run scared very quickly when there is a threat of damage to their brand by comments and statements such as this.
Nicolas Anelka was sacked by West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League this season after being found guilty of anti semitic comments.
It is now a standard part of endorsement contracts that sponsors can walk away if there is any material breach of reputation.
